Socialist Alliance’s stated aim is to “replace the capitalist system with one in which the fundamental elements of the economy are socially owned and controlled and democratic systems of popular power established” through a “sustained mass campaign of total opposition to capitalism”.[3]

The Socialist Alliance was founded in 2001 as a loose alliance of socialist organisations and individuals. The project was initiated by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and the International Socialist Organisation along with 6 other founding socialist organisations, to create greater left unity in the aftermath of the protest of the World Economic Forum in Melbourne on 11–13 September 2000.

Many non-aligned socialists were attracted by the idea of left unity, and soon after its formation the Socialist Alliance grew to a point where a majority of its members were not members of any of the affiliate organisations.[7]

In response to this growth, the Democratic Socialist Perspective and many non-aligned members won a majority at successive national conferences for measures that would move the Socialist Alliance in the direction of becoming a united socialist party, rather than simply an alliance of groups and individuals.

Most of the affiliate organisations, however, in particular the International Socialist Organisation, preferred to keep the Socialist Alliance as a broad left-wing electoral front for socialist organisations and individuals.

In late 2003, the Democratic Socialist Party resolved to become "a Marxist tendency in the Socialist Alliance", renaming itself the "Democratic Socialist Perspective" as a step towards turning the Socialist Alliance into a "Multi-Tendency Socialist Party". This move was supported by some 75% of conference delegates at the Socialist Alliance's national conference that year,[8] although other affiliates remained opposed.

The 2005 National Conference saw the emergence of a number of particularly sharp political differences. These centred on: the extent to which the Socialist Alliance should criticise the Australian Labor Party; whether the organisation should have a formal relationship with the newspaper associated with the Democratic Socialist perspective, Green Left Weekly, as a step towards Socialist Alliance itself having its own newspaper; and whether non-aligned members should have an automatic majority on the organisation's national executive.

Following this conference three of the leading members of a "Non-Aligned Caucus" and most of the active affiliate organisations gradually withdrew from the Socialist Alliance. The "Non Aligned Caucus" was an ad hoc grouping of members who weren't aligned to any affiliated organisation which formed[9] in the lead up to the 2003 national conference.

In January 2010, the Democratic Socialist Perspective voted to merge into the Socialist Alliance, in effect ceasing to exist as an affiliate organisation.[10]

After approximately a year of leadership discussions, joint forums and participation by Socialist Alliance at Socialist Alternative's Marxism conference, the Socialist Alternative leadership publicly announced that they were pulling out unity discussions in November 2013, but remained open to ongoing collaboration.[13] Socialist Alternative claimed the Socialist Alliance's approach to a transitional program and electoral politics was "not sufficiently similar to carry through a sustained and productive unity."[14]

While the Socialist Alliance welcomed the opportunity for ongoing collaboration,[15] it was critical of Socialist Alternative's reasons for withdrawal.[16] Leading Socialist Alliance member Dave Holmes accused the Socialist Alternative of "sticking with its very narrow, propagandist view of socialist politics" rather than seeking to unite to appeal to socialists more broadly.[17] The Socialist Alliance published the full correspondence on the unity discussions in its discussion bulletin, Alliance Voices.[14]

At its national conference in 2014, the socialist youth organisation Resistance voted to merge with the Socialist Alliance and become its official youth organisation.[18] The new organisation renamed itself Resistance: Young Socialist Alliance.[19]

Resistance elects its own leadership body to coordinate the party's youth work and organise its youth conference, Radical Ideas.

The Socialist Alliance is a registered political party at a federal level,[22] and annually maintains[23] electoral registration in New South Wales[24] and in Victoria.[25]

Federal registration requires 500 members,[26] Victorian registration also requires 500 members in Victoria,[25] and 750 members are needed for NSW registration.[27]

These figures reflect electorally registered members, however, and may not be an accurate measure of active or financial membership. A Socialist Alliance Perspectives resolution published in Alliance Voices in February 2012, suggests a membership figure of approximately 600,[28] making it the largest organisation on the Australian far-left - approximately twice the size of the next-largest group, Socialist Alternative.[29]

Socialist Alliance members are generally organised in branches of at least 7 financial members, however the party Constitution allows for “at large” members living in areas with no nearby branch structure to join.[3]

The Socialist Alliance website carries all of the organisation’s press releases, public statements and articles by members, as well as the Constitution and a detailed set of policy documents. Socialist Alliance local councillors Sam Wainwright and Sue Bolton also maintain the individual websites (Sam’s Freo Report[30] and Sue’s Moreland Report[31]).

In addition to material published on the party website, in 2012 the Socialist Alliance produced a draft programmatic document called "Towards a Socialist Australia",[32] which was made available both online and in print form. This was not intended to be a final document, but rather as a means of starting “a broad discussion about socialism we will advance and further unite the socialist movement in Australia.”[33]

The newspaper Green Left Weekly – which is politically associated with the Socialist Alliance – runs a weekly Socialist Alliance column called "Our Common Cause". The Socialist Alliance also has a close working relationship with Links – International Journal of Socialist Renewal.[34]

For around one year the Socialist Alliance published a quarterly journal, Seeing Red, the final issue of which came out in March 2006.

The Brisbane local newspaper The Westender[35] has also run a column written by the Socialist Alliance, and its members have been published on sites such as ABC's The Drum and Online Opinion.

The Socialist Alliance and its members have published a large number of pamphlets and books, primarily through Resistance Books,[36] on a range of historical, political and social justice issues.

In 2013, Resistance Books published Conflict in the Unions[37] by Douglas Jordan, a systematic examination of the political (rather than industrial) activity of the Communist Party of Australia in the trade union movement between 1945 and 1960, in particular trade union support for the peace movement, attitudes towards the post-war mass immigration program, and the emerging Aboriginal civil rights movement.

In 2009, Terry Townsend wrote The Aboriginal Struggle and the Left,[38] which examines the role of the Communist Party, militant unions and socialist activists in supporting the Indigenous movement through a decades-long ‘black-red alliance’.

Also through Resistance Books, in 2000 Michael Karadjis published Bosnia, Kosova and the West – The Yugoslav Tragedy: A Marxist View,[39] providing a Marxist analysis of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, and arguing that the West’s concern over human rights was designed to mask the pursuit geopolitical interests in the region.

In 2013, Zed Books published Latin America's Turbulent Transitions: The Future of Twenty-First Century Socialism[40] by Roger Burbach, Michael Fox and Socialist Alliance member Federico Fuentes, which examines the origins and underpinnings of the new kind of socialism emerging from the social movements and radical left governments in the region. Fuentes has also co-authored three books in Spanish with Chilean political scientist Marta Harnecker on the new left in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

In 2011, former Green Left Weekly editor Simon Butler published Too Many People? Population, Immigration, and the Environmental Crisis[41] with Ian Angus, the editor of the journal Climate and Capitalism, through Haymarket Books. The book seeks to refute the idea that “overpopulation”, rather than the capitalist system of production, is a major cause of environmental destruction, and argues that focusing on population not only misunderstands the crisis, but weakens responses to it.

Socialist Alliance member and Aboriginal activist Sam Watson is a playwright and author of several works, including Oodgeroo - Bloodline to Country and The Kadaitcha Sung.

While the Socialist Alliance participates in elections, standing candidates at a range of levels, it does not see electoral politics as the most important vehicle for building socialism. Rather, it sees its participation in elections not as a way “to "represent" people's movements, but as a way to strengthen them and help them win their demands.”[42] Socialist Alliance candidates also pledge to take only an average wage if elected, donating the remainder into the social movements.

The Socialist Alliance first campaigned in the 2001 federal election, however candidates were listed as independents on the ballot as its application for electoral registration was suspended when the election was called early.

The Socialist Alliance has continued to run candidates in federal, state and council elections.

At the 2004 federal election the Socialist Alliance received 0.12% (14,155 votes) in the House of Representatives,[43] and 0.11% (13,305 votes) in the Senate,[44] failing to reach 2% of the vote in individual seats.

In the 2004 Victorian local government elections, Socialist Alliance did relatively well in two councils in Melbourne. In the Moreland City Council elections, two candidates exceeded 4%.[61][62] In the election in the Boroondara City Council, a Socialist Alliance candidate won over 12% of the vote (in the absence of an Australian Labor Party-endorsed candidate) in Cotham ward.[63][64]

The 2008 Victorian local government election results were also positive. The Socialist Alliance polled almost 19% in the Stoney Creek ward of the Melbourne municipality of Maribyrnong[65] and polled over 10% in all wards bar one that it contested across the state.[66]

In October 2009 the Socialist Alliance won its first election when Sam Wainwright was elected for the Hilton Ward of the Fremantle City Council.[67][68] In October 2013, Sam Wainwright was re-elected to Fremantle's Hilton Ward with an outright majority of 58.33%.[69]

In October 2012 the Socialist won its second election when Sue Bolton was elected to Moreland City Council in Melbourne's northern suburbs.[70]

Bolton and Wainwright, along with the Socialist Party’s Stephen Jolley on Yarra Council, are currently the only politicians in Australia elected on an explicitly socialist platform.

While Socialist Alliance, its affiliates and non-aligned members continue to put forward and argue for socialist politics in the electoral arena, the organisation places a stronger emphasis on building successful grassroots campaigns as a way of promoting socialist politics.[71] In the recent unity discussions with Socialist Alternative,[17] the Socialist Alliance re-emphasised its support for this “transitional method” towards campaigns, arguing that campaign work is key to leading people to understanding the need to transform the whole capitalist system.

In line with its criticism that the ALP is holding back and bureaucratising the union movement, Socialist Alliance encourages workers and unions to become independent of the ALP, to strengthen democracy in the unions and to set up a "new workers' party". However, it also works alongside rank-and-file union members on industrial campaigns, regardless of political affiliation.

In 2005 and 2006, the Socialist Alliance initiated and helped organise trade union "fight-back" conferences,[72][73][74] in response to the Federal Government's "WorkChoices" legislation, attracting hundreds of union militants and members of other socialist groups.[75] The Socialist Alliance was involved in the Your Rights at Work campaign against WorkChoices that followed, as well as the campaign to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).[76][77]

Socialist Alliance has been highly critical of the Australian Labour Party's industrial policy for not returning enough rights to workers and for retaining the ABCC, describing the Rudd government’s Fair Work Australia as little more than "WorkChoices-lite".[78]

Notable Socialist Alliance trade union leaders have included Chris Cain, Western Australian State Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia; Tim Gooden, former secretary of the Geelong Trades and Labour Council; and Craig Johnston, former Victorian State Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union,[79] who was jailed for 9 months in 2004 after an industrial dispute at Johnson Tiles in 2001.[80]

Socialist Alliance is opposed to US and Australian military interventions such as the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Socialist Alliance, its affiliates and members played a central role in the campaigns against these wars in 2001 and 2013. Socialist Alliance also played a leading role in founding the Stop the War Coalition in a number of cities, and organising protests in the years that followed.[81]

Socialist Alliance opposes the "war on terror", claiming that it leads to increased racism against Arab and Muslim communities, and to government policies that threaten civil liberties.[83][84] Socialist Alliance members were central to organising the protests in Sydney against APEC in 2007,[85][86] and the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, in the face of increased police powers that were heavily criticised for violating civil liberties.[87][88]

The party conducts this work alongside other activist and community groups as well as individual activists in broader coalitions like the Stop the War Coalition,[89][90] and the Gaza Defence Committee.[91]

Socialist Alliance is involved in a variety of campaigns around environmental issues, most notably climate change, helping to organise the 2006 Walk Against Warming rallies in some cities,[92][93] and producing detailed policies[94] on combating climate change which have been created through an open wiki process[95] with broad membership input. Since the 2007 Federal Election, the environmental website VoteClimate[96] has rated Socialist Alliance environmental policy number 1 (ahead of the Greens).[97]

Socialist Alliance members also helped to organise the[98] Climate Action Summit[99] in Canberra on 31 January – 1 February 2009, and is involved in building the new national Climate Action Network[100] that grew out of that summit.

Socialist Alliance argues that no solution to the crisis caused by global warming is possible without overthrowing capitalism, and criticises market mechanisms such as carbon trading as being unworkable, profit-driven and reinforcing the capitalist relations that it alleges caused the pollution to begin with.

Socialist Alliance has played a role in recent campaigns for justice for indigenous Australians, particularly around the inquiries into the deaths-in-custody of TJ Hickey in Redfern[101] and Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island. In the case of Mulrunji, leading indigenous activist, academic and Socialist Alliance member Sam Watson played a key role in organising the protests that led to the re-opening of the inquiry.[102]

Socialist Alliance also opposes the Federal Government's Northern Territory intervention, and helped to organise the 12 February 2008 protests outside Parliament House in Canberra.[103]

Socialist Alliance members have also been involved in the struggle for refugee rights, opposing mandatory detention of illegal immigrants, and calling for Australia to pursue a more humane policy on refugees.[112]

Socialist Alliance advocate the provision of quality public services by all levels of government, calling for increased funding in public education, healthcare, housing and transport. They also advocate expanding the public sector with the nationalisation of large multinational corporations. Furthermore, the party calls for capitalist enterprises that have received taxpayer-subsidies to either repay their subsidies back to the taxpayers in full or be nationalised without compensation.

Socialist Alliance is involved in campaigns against privatisation like those planned by the New South Wales Government (for example electricity[113] and prisons[114]), alongside the Greens, unions, ALP members and community groups. They maintain that all privatisations must be reversed with nationalisation.

Socialist Alliance is also active in a number of other social justice campaigns, including LGBTI rights,[115][116][117] women's liberation,[118][119][120] welfare rights,[121][122] and prison reform,[123][124] as well as around local issues.[125][126][127][128] After an editorial by OUTinPerth accusing socialists of taking over the movement for equal marriage rights,[129] prominent LQBTIQ campaigner and Socialist Alliance member Farida Iqbal issued a reply arguing that the Socialist Alliance and others had played a prominent role in the Australian movement for marriage equality since it began in 2004.[130]

Socialist Alliance also actively campaigns in solidarity with international pro-democracy movements as far ranging as Latin America,[131]
the Middle East,[132][133]
Western Sahara,[134]
Zimbabwe,[135]
South East Asia,[136][137][138][139] and elsewhere.

Other political organisations on the Australian far left have criticise the Socialist Alliance project. Socialist Alternative, for example, contest that a sustained mass radicalisation had been born out of the anti-capitalist movement or that a significant layer of disillusioned ALP voters are willing to join a socialist electoral program.[140] Socialist Alternative also criticises Socialist Alliance for what it perceives to be an over-emphasis on electoral work.

The Revolutionary Socialist Party (who formed in 2008 as a split from the DSP over debates about Socialist Alliance) accused the Alliance project of remaining "heavily dependent on the DSP’s political and organising efforts and fundraising." The RSP also (incorrectly) claimed that only the DSP remained an affiliate of the Alliance by 2008.[142]

Due to the similarity of their names and initials, Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative are frequently confused in the media and amongst critics of the social movements that they are involved in.

^Taking into account registration requirements for NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, where the party is registered, as well as branch membership requirements in other states, which mandate for at least 7 members for a branch to be constituted.

1.
Socialist Alternative (Australia)
–
Socialist Alternative is a revolutionary socialist organisation in Australia, identifying with the Marxist tradition of socialism from below. With branches across Australia, their membership operates within the union and student union movements. In 2013, Socialist Alternative started distribution of a fortnightly newspaper, Socialist Alternative was established in 1995 by ex-members of the former International Socialist Organisation in Melbourne. Like in Australia, splits occurred within the IST in other countries, including New Zealand, Greece, Germany, Canada, South Africa, in addition to splits, the International Socialist Organization in the United States were expelled from the IST. Since 2013, Socialist Alternative has maintained permanent observer status within the International Committee meeting of the Fourth International, however Melbourne still maintains the largest membership nationally with four branches. Socialist Alternative now claims to have the largest active membership of any organisation in the country. Socialist Alternative was invited to join the Socialist Alliance in 2001, the Alliance grouped together the Democratic Socialist Perspective, the ISO, and other Australian far-left groups and individuals. Socialist Alternative eventually declined to join due to the Socialist Alliances strong emphasis on running in parliamentary elections and this parliamentary emphasis in the flat political climate was seen by Socialist Alternative as a restriction to building activism on the ground and representing a turn towards reformist politics. Socialist Alternative entered into unity discussions with the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 2012 on the basis of a straightforward revolutionary Marxist program, for socialism in Australia today, which prompted the Socialist Alliance to reopen unity discussions with Socialist Alternative. They were also accused of assaulting Australian Liberal Students Federation members who supported Israel during the Lebanon War, Socialist Alternative members argue that they are anti-Zionist and not anti-Semitic. Socialist Alternative maintains that Israel does not represent Jews, but simply claims to do so and they point out they have Jewish members, such as Rick Kuhn and Patrick Weiniger and insist that the organisation take a firm stand against all forms of racism. They have been involved in anti-war, anti-racism, anti-Zionism, anti-capitalism, anti-corporate greed, Socialist Alternative members are identifiable during street marches with the red flags carried in their contingent or red bloc. Socialist Alternative claim they play a key rôle in holding the campaign together and they have participated in protests against detention centres such as Woomera and Baxter, including the breaking out of refugees in 2001. Socialist Alternative is opposed to the entirety of mandatory detention as a policy, since the election of the Rudd-Gillard Labor government in 2007, they have continued to organise and campaign around the issue. The organisation has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, in Melbourne, Socialist Alternative are based at Victorian Trades Hall. Branches hold meetings to discuss current political developments and Marxist history and theory, Socialist Alternative advertise public meetings through leafleting on street stalls, campuses, at demonstrations and through bill posters. They are known for their hostility towards both the Liberal and Labor parties, Students and student union activists form a large composition of Socialist Alternatives membership and their political work often emphasises university-based campaigns. Socialist Alternatives political orientation to students mirrors the development of the British Socialist Workers Party during the 1980s, the membership of the organisation also includes secondary school students, active in their schools

2.
Ultimo, New South Wales
–
Ultimo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ultimo is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the government area of the City of Sydney. Broadway is a locality around the road of the same name, Ultimo was originally the name of the estate of Dr John Harris, on 34 acres granted to him by Governor King in 1803. It was named for an error in a legal case against Harris that had prevented him being court-martialled. His offence was listed as ultimo when it should have cited as instant. Harris Street is named in his honour, the area remained as farmland, in possession of the Harris family, until it was subdivided in 1859. At that time, most of the current streets were laid out, residential development accelerated in the 1880s. In 1891 the population of the Pyrmont-Ultimo area was 19,177, the population peaked at around 30,000 in 1900. However, the construction of factories, quarries, woolstores and a station in the early 20th century saw the demolition of hundreds of houses. It was a site for warehouses because of its proximity to Darling Harbour. Several examples of the Federation Warehouse style can be found along Wattle Street, by 1954, the population of Pyrmont and Ultimo was 5,000, and by 1978 it was just 1,800. Festival moved its facilities to a site in nearby Pyrmont, New South Wales in 1966, subsequently, many industries began to move to cheaper land further from the CBD, and the decline of the wool industry made Ultimos 15 woolstores redundant. By the start of the 1980s, derelict industrial sites began to be redeveloped for residences, mostly as apartments, very little industry remains in the area, and its current character is a combination of residential and commercial. One conspicuous industrial relic is the shell of Daveys Flour Mill, built in 1911. Wentworth Park commenced its life as a creek and swamp, known from the 1830s as Blackwattle Cove Swamp. Wentworth Park became a rugby league oval and the ground of the Glebe Dirty Reds who were a part of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership back in its inception. One of the landmarks in the area is the Uniting Church on the corner of Quarry Street, the church was originally built in 1883 to replace the old Presbyterian Church at Mount Street, Pyrmont. The latter had been the first Presbyterian Church in the colony, but it outgrew its old premises, a manse was built a few years later

3.
New South Wales
–
New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840

4.
Socialism
–
Social ownership may refer to forms of public, collective, or cooperative ownership, to citizen ownership of equity, or to any combination of these. Although there are varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them. Socialist economic systems can be divided into both non-market and market forms, non-market socialism aims to circumvent the inefficiencies and crises traditionally associated with capital accumulation and the profit system. Profits generated by these firms would be controlled directly by the workforce of each firm or accrue to society at large in the form of a social dividend, the feasibility and exact methods of resource allocation and calculation for a socialist system are the subjects of the socialist calculation debate. Core dichotomies associated with these concerns include reformism versus revolutionary socialism, the term is frequently used to draw contrast to the political system of the Soviet Union, which critics argue operated in an authoritarian fashion. By the 1920s, social democracy and communism became the two dominant political tendencies within the international socialist movement, by this time, Socialism emerged as the most influential secular movement of the twentieth century, worldwide. Socialist parties and ideas remain a force with varying degrees of power and influence in all continents. Today, some socialists have also adopted the causes of social movements. The origin of the term socialism may be traced back and attributed to a number of originators, in addition to significant historical shifts in the usage, for Andrew Vincent, The word ‘socialism’ finds its root in the Latin sociare, which means to combine or to share. The related, more technical term in Roman and then medieval law was societas and this latter word could mean companionship and fellowship as well as the more legalistic idea of a consensual contract between freemen. The term socialism was created by Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the founders of what would later be labelled utopian socialism. Simon coined socialism as a contrast to the doctrine of individualism. They presented socialism as an alternative to liberal individualism based on the ownership of resources. The term socialism is attributed to Pierre Leroux, and to Marie Roch Louis Reybaud in France, the term communism also fell out of use during this period, despite earlier distinctions between socialism and communism from the 1840s. An early distinction between socialism and communism was that the former aimed to only socialise production while the latter aimed to socialise both production and consumption. However, by 1888 Marxists employed the term socialism in place of communism, linguistically, the contemporary connotation of the words socialism and communism accorded with the adherents and opponents cultural attitude towards religion. In Christian Europe, of the two, communism was believed to be the atheist way of life, in Protestant England, the word communism was too culturally and aurally close to the Roman Catholic communion rite, hence English atheists denoted themselves socialists. Friedrich Engels argued that in 1848, at the time when the Communist Manifesto was published, socialism was respectable on the continent and this latter branch of socialism produced the communist work of Étienne Cabet in France and Wilhelm Weitling in Germany

5.
Marxism
–
It originates from the mid-to-late 19th century works of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As the contradiction becomes apparent to the proletariat through the alienation of labor, Marxism has since developed into different branches and schools of thought, and there is now no single definitive Marxist theory. Marxism has been adopted by a number of academics and theorists working in various disciplines. Critics have taken issue with particular Marxist claims or accused Marxism as a whole of being inconsistent, refuted based on new information. The Marxian analysis begins with an analysis of the material conditions, the economic system and these social relations form a base and superstructure. As forces of production, most notably technology, improve, existing forms of social organization become inefficient, from forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution and these inefficiencies manifest themselves as social contradictions in society in the form of class struggle. Under the capitalist mode of production, this struggle materializes between the minority who own the means of production, and the vast majority of the population who produce goods, the socialist system would succeed capitalism as humanitys mode of production through workers revolution. According to Marxism, especially arising from crisis theory, socialism is a historical necessity, in a socialist society private property, in the form of the means of production, would be replaced by co-operative ownership. A socialist economy would not base production on the creation of private profits, Society does not consist of individuals, but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand. The historical materialist theory of history analyses the causes of societal development. All constituent features of a society are assumed to stem from economic activity, the base and superstructure metaphor portrays the totality of social relations by which humans produce and re-produce their social existence. According to Marx, The sum total of the forces of production accessible to men determines the condition of society and this relationship is reflexive, at first the base gives rise to the superstructure and remains the foundation of a form of social organization. As Friedrich Engels clarified, The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles, accordingly, Marx designated human history as encompassing four stages of development in relations of production. Primitive Communism, as in tribal societies. Slave Society, a development of tribal to city-state, aristocracy is born, feudalism, aristocrats are the ruling class, merchants evolve into capitalists. Capitalism, capitalists are the class, who create and employ the proletariat. According to the Marxist theoretician and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, the content of Marxism was Marxs economic doctrine

6.
Anti-capitalism
–
Anti-capitalism encompasses a wide variety of movements, ideas and attitudes that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the sense of the word, are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system. State or worker cooperative ownership is in opposition to private ownership of means of production. Most socialists argue that capitalism unfairly concentrates power, wealth and profit, among a segment of society that controls capital. Socialists argue that the accumulation of capital generates waste through externalizations that require costly corrective regulatory measures, socialists view private property relations as limiting the potential of productive forces in the economy. For the influential German individualist anarchist philosopher Max Stirner private property is a spook which lives by the grace of law, in other words, private property exists purely through the protection of the State, through the States grace. And what is their principle, whose protector they always love, not that of labour, rather it is interest-bearing possession. Labour certainly, yet little or none at all of ones own, and so to fight against capitalism is a pointless task, since be it State capitalism or Enterprise capitalism, as long as Government exists, exploiting capital will exist. The fight, but of consciousness, is against the State and it is a negatively connoted term used to draw an analogy between slavery and wage labor by focusing on similarities between owning and renting a person. Libertarian socialists believe if freedom is valued, then society must work towards a system in which individuals have the power to economic issues along with political issues. American anarchist Emma Goldman believed that the system of capitalism was incompatible with human liberty. She also argued that capitalism dehumanized workers, turning the producer into a particle of a machine, with less will and decision than his master of steel. Noam Chomsky contends that there is little difference between chattel slavery and renting ones self to an owner or wage slavery. He feels that it is an attack on personal integrity that undermines individual freedom and he holds that workers should own and control their workplace. Many libertarian socialists argue that voluntary associations should manage industrial manufacture. As such, they see a distinction between the concepts of property and personal possession. He believes that Tucker overlooked this due to Tuckers focus on individual market transactions. The theoretical sections of Studies in Mutualist Political Economy are presented as an attempt to integrate marginalist critiques into the theory of value

7.
Political spectrum
–
A political spectrum is a system of classifying different political positions upon one or more geometric axes that symbolize independent political dimensions. Most long-standing spectra include a wing and left wing, which originally referred to seating arrangements in the French parliament after the Revolution. According to the simplest left–right axis, communism and socialism are usually regarded internationally as being on the left, liberalism can mean different things in different contexts, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. Those with an intermediate outlook are classified as centrists or moderates, politics that rejects the conventional left–right spectrum is known as syncretic politics. Political scientists have noted that a single left–right axis is insufficient for describing the existing variation in political beliefs. As seen from the Speakers seat at the front of the Assembly, the aristocracy sat on the right, originally, the defining point on the ideological spectrum was the Ancien Régime. The Right thus implied support for aristocratic or royal interests, and the church, while The Left implied support for republicanism, secularism, and civil liberties. Because the political franchise at the start of the revolution was relatively narrow, the original Left represented mainly the interests of the bourgeoisie and their political interests in the French Revolution lay with opposition to the aristocracy, and so they found themselves allied with the early capitalists. However, this did not mean that their interests lay with the laissez-faire policies of those representing them politically. As capitalist economies developed, the aristocracy became less relevant and were replaced by capitalist representatives. This evolution has often pulled parliamentary politicians away from laissez-faire economic policies, for almost a century, social scientists have considered the problem of how best to describe political variation. In 1950, Leonard W. Submitting the results to factor analysis and this system was derived empirically, rather than devising a political model on purely theoretical grounds and testing it, Fergusons research was exploratory. As a result of method, care must be taken in the interpretation of Fergusons three factors, as factor analysis will output an abstract factor whether an objectively real factor exists or not. Although replication of the Nationalism factor was inconsistent, the finding of Religionism and Humanitarianism had a number of replications by Ferguson, shortly afterward, Hans Eysenck began researching political attitudes in Great Britain. He believed that there was something similar about the National Socialists on the one hand. Submitting this value questionnaire to the process of factor analysis used by Ferguson. Such analysis produces a factor whether or not it corresponds to a real-world phenomenon, Eysencks dimensions of R and T were found by factor analyses of values in Germany and Sweden, France, and Japan. According to Eysenck, members of both ideologies were tough-minded, in this context, Eysenck carried out studies on nazism and communist groups, claiming to find members of both groups to be more dominant and more aggressive than control groups

8.
Left-wing politics
–
Left-wing politics supports social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy and social inequality. The term left wing can also refer to the radical, reforming, use of the term Left became more prominent after the restoration of the French monarchy in 1815 when it was applied to the Independents. The word wing was appended to Left and Right in the late 19th century, usually with disparaging intent, throughout the 19th century in France, the main line dividing left and right was between supporters of the French Republic and those of the Monarchy. The June Days Uprising during the Second Republic was an attempt by the Left to assert itself after the 1848 Revolution, in the mid-19th century, nationalism, socialism, democracy, and anti-clericalism became features of the French Left. After Napoleon IIIs 1851 coup and the subsequent establishment of the Second Empire, Marxism began to rival radical republicanism, the influential Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, published in 1848, asserted that all human history is the history of class struggle. They predicted that a revolution would eventually overthrow bourgeois capitalism and create a classless, stateless. It was in period that the word wing was appended to both Left and Right. Following a split between supporters of Marx and Mikhail Bakunin, anarchists formed the International Workers Association, the Second International became divided over the issue of World War I. Those who opposed the war, such as Vladimir Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg, in the United States after Reconstruction, the phrase the Left was used to describe those who supported trade unions, the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. More recently in the United States, left-wing and right-wing have often used as synonyms for Democratic and Republican. Since the Right was populist, both in the Western and the Eastern Bloc, anything viewed as art was called leftist in all Europe. The following positions are typically associated with left-wing politics, during the industrial revolution, leftists supported trade unions. At the beginning of the 20th century, many leftists advocated strong government intervention in the economy, leftists continue to criticize what they perceive as the exploitative nature of globalization, the race to the bottom, and unjust lay-offs. Other leftists believe in Marxian economics, which are based on the theories of Karl Marx. Marxian economics does not exclusively rely upon Marx, it draws from a range of Marxist and non-Marxist sources, the political relevance of farmers has divided the left. In Das Kapital, Marx scarcely mentioned the subject, Mao Zedong believed that it would be rural peasants, not urban workers, who would bring about the proletarian revolution. Both Karl Marx and the early socialist William Morris arguably had a concern for environmental matters, according to Marx, Even an entire society, a nation, or all simultaneously existing societies taken together. Are not owners of the earth and they are simply its possessors, its beneficiaries, and have to bequeath it in an improved state to succeeding generations

9.
Far-left politics
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Far-left politics or extreme-left politics is a branch of politics further to the left of the left-right spectrum than the standard political left. Far-left politics are generally the province of extra-governmental groups and those espousing them are typically opposed to their governments, dr. March sees four major subgroups within contemporary European far-left politics, communists, democratic socialists, populist socialists and social populists. Hloušek and Kopeček add secondary characteristics to those identified by March and Mudde, such as anti-Americanism, anti-globalization, opposition to NATO and these people include both authoritarians and libertarians. McClosky and Chong surveyed a number of militant, revolutionary groups in the US and they argue that, like far-right extremists. The term ultra-leftism has two overlapping uses, one usage is a generally pejorative term for certain types of positions on the far left that are extreme or intransigent. The term is also used—pejoratively or not—to refer to a current of Marxist communism. Ultra-left currents within left communism are often subject to criticisms from other factions of the left, the left communist organization International Communist Current refuses to work with leftist groups except for other left communists or anarchists. Gilles Dauvé, a left communist theorist, argues that all bourgeois regimes should be opposed, the term ultra left is rarely used in English, in which people tend to speak broadly of left communism as a minor variant of traditional Marxism. In opposition to Bolshevism, the left generally places heavy emphasis upon the autonomy. The term has been popularised in the United States by the Socialist Workers Party, a number of far-left parties gave birth to militant organisations during the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Red Brigades and the Red Army Faction. These groups generally aimed to overthrow capitalist systems and replace them with socialist societies

10.
Red
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Red is the color at the longer-wavelengths end of the spectrum of visible light next to orange, at the opposite end from violet. Red color has a predominant light wavelength of roughly 620–740 nanometers, light with a longer wavelength than red but shorter than terahertz radiation and microwave is called infrared. Red is one of the secondary colors, resulting from the combination of yellow. Traditionally, it was viewed as a primary colour, along with yellow and blue, in the RYB color space and traditional color wheel formerly used by painters. Reds can vary in shade from light pink to very dark maroon or burgundy. Red is the color of cyan. In nature, the red color of blood comes from hemoglobin, the red color of the Grand Canyon and other geological features is caused by hematite or red ochre, both forms of iron oxide. It also causes the red color of the planet Mars, the color of autumn leaves is caused by pigments called anthocyanins, which are produced towards the end of summer, when the green chlorophyll is no longer produced. One to two percent of the population has red hair, the color is produced by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin. Since red is the color of blood, it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, modern surveys in the United States and Europe show red is also the color most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love and joy. In China, India and many other Asian countries it is the color of symbolizing happiness, since the 19th century, red has also been associated with socialism and communism. The word red is derived from the Old English rēad, the word can be further traced to the Proto-Germanic rauthaz and the Proto-Indo European root rewdʰ-. In Sanskrit, the word means red or blood. In the Akkadian language of Ancient Mesopotamia and in the modern Inuit language of Inuit, the words for colored in Latin and Spanish both also mean red. In Portuguese the word for red is vermelho, which comes from Latin vermiculus, in the Russian language, the word for red, Кра́сный, comes from the same old Slavic root as the words for beautiful—красивый and excellent—прекрасный. Thus Red Square in Moscow, named long before the Russian Revolution, in heraldry, the word gules is used for red. Red can vary in hue from orange-red to violet-red, and for each hue there is a variety of shades and tints. Red hematite powder was found scattered around the remains at a grave site in a Zhoukoudian cave complex near Beijing

11.
Local government in Victoria
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Local government in the Australian state of Victoria describes the 79 municipal districts often referred to as local government areas. They are constituted as cities, shires, rural cities and, in one case, in addition to the LGAs, there are also 10 coastal islands and ski resorts which are unincorporated areas and administered either by the state or management boards. At present, the councils not controlled by administrators have a total of 611 councillors, after the elections in October 2016, this number will increase due to changes in electoral structure and administrators leaving some councils. Up till 1994 there had been 210 LGAs, when Jeff Kennett, the councils of Benalla and Mansfield split subsequent to this to arrive at the current number. Both bodies continued after the creation of Victoria as a separate colony, Road districts were established pursuant to legislation passed in 1853. From 1862 many road districts became shires pursuant to the District Councils Bill 1862, to become a shire, the road district had to be over 100 square miles in size and have annual rate revenue of over £1000. There were 96 road districts or shires created by 1865, promotion to town or city status was dependent on the gross revenue of the council. Such promotion was not automatic, but it was granted often, the clauses have been amended many times by parliament, but since 2006 the Constitution Act has required a referendum to further alter them. Five shires became rural cities but were dissolved with the 1994 restructure, in 1992 there were 65 cities in Victoria, more than there were in England at the time despite a significantly lower population. In 1994, the Jeff Kennett government restructured local government in Victoria and his reforms dissolved 210 councils and sacked 1600 elected councillors, and created 78 new councils through amalgamations. In suburban Melbourne 53 municipalities were reduced to 26, the new local government areas were headed by commissioners appointed by the State Government, democratically elected councils did not return until 1996. The current total of 79 LGAs arose when the Shire of Delatite was split in 2002 into the Rural City of Benalla and the Shire of Mansfield. A new City of Sunbury was proposed to be created from part of the City of Hume after the 2016 council elections, all local government areas are governed in a similar fashion, with an elected council, one of whom is the mayor. The City of Melbourne and the City of Greater Geelong have a elected mayor. The average area of a district within the Melbourne metropolitan area is 285 square kilometres. In practice, this is understood as referring to the distribution between urban centres and rural areas. The term borough, used of the Borough of Queenscliffe, is not defined by the act but has retained for the single borough which survived the reforms of the 1990s. Under the repealed Local Government Act 1958, boroughs, towns and cities were defined on the basis of area, population, in practice, boroughs were and are small towns

12.
Western Australia
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Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Southern Ocean to the south, the state has about 2.6 million inhabitants, around 11% of the national total. 92% of the lives in the south-west corner of the state. The first European visitor to Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, the first European settlement of Western Australia occurred following the landing by Major Edmund Lockyer on 26 December 1826 of an expedition on behalf of the New South Wales colonial government. This was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, including the site of the present-day capital, york was the first inland settlement in Western Australia. Situated 97 kilometres east of Perth, it was settled on 16 September 1831, Western Australia achieved responsible government in 1890, and federated with the other British colonies in Australia in 1901. Today its economy relies on mining, agriculture and tourism. The state produces 46% of Australias exports, Western Australia is the second-largest iron ore producer in the world. The International Hydrographic Organization designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean, the total length of the states eastern border is 1,862 km. There are 20,781 km of coastline, including 7,892 km of island coastline, the total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km2. Most of the state is a low plateau with an elevation of about 400 metres, very low relief. This descends relatively sharply to the plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment. The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile, even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and also deficient in zinc, copper, molybdenum, the infertility of most of the soils has required heavy application by farmers of chemical fertilisers, particularly superphosphate, insecticides and herbicides. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations, the grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils. Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora, large areas of the states wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate and it was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri, one of the tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current, the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs in the world

13.
Politics of Australia
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The politics of Australia takes place within the framework of a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Australia largely operates as a two-party system in which voting is compulsory, the Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, and has influenced both by the Westminster system and United States federalism. Under Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia, Parliament consists of three components, the Monarch, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, the Australian Parliament is the worlds sixth oldest continuous democracy. Voting within each electorate utilises the instant-runoff system of preferential voting, the party or coalition of parties which commands the confidence of a majority of members of the House of Representatives forms government. The Australian Senate has 76 members, the six states return twelve senators each, and the two mainland territories return two senators each, elected through the single transferable voting system. Senators are elected for flexible terms not exceeding six years, with half of the senators contesting at each federal election, as such, the Senate has the power to bring down the government, as occurred during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Such deadlocks are resolved under section 57 of the Constitution, under a procedure called a double dissolution election. Such elections are rare, not because the conditions for holding them are seldom met, of the six double dissolution elections that have been held since federation, half have resulted in the fall of a government. The most recent double dissolution election was in July 2016, with the government holding a slim majority, arguably, the trigger bills did not have much prominence throughout the campaign. The role of head of state in Australia is divided between two people, the monarch of Australia and the Governor-General of Australia. The functions and roles of the Governor-General include appointing ambassadors, ministers, the Governor-General is the President of the Federal Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. These posts are held under the authority of the Australian Constitution, in practice, barring exceptional circumstances, the Governor-General exercises these powers only on the advice of the Prime-Minister. As such, the role of Governor-General is often described as a ceremonial position. The Prime Minister of Australia is Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the Cabinet and head of government, the office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia. Despite being at the apex of executive government in the country, barring exceptional circumstances, the prime minister is always the leader of the political party or coalition with majority support in the House of Representatives. The only case where a senator was appointed minister was that of John Gorton. The Cabinet of Australia is the council of ministers responsible to Parliament

14.
Elections in Australia
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Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, though there are variations between them. Part IV of Chapter 1 of the Australian Constitution briefly deals with eligibility for voting and it does not prescribe how elections should be conducted. Election campaigns and associated political advertisements have some regulation, Public funding of political parties and party registration was introduced in 1983. Voting is almost entirely conducted by paper ballot and is compulsory for adults, the informal vote is not usually significant, but a donkey vote is more common. They may, however, have an impact in marginal seats. The Parliament of Australia consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House of Representatives has 150 members, elected for a maximum term of three years in single-member constituencies. Elections are conducted by a system of preferential voting, electors in the two territories elect senators for non-fixed terms that are defined by the term of the House of Representatives. State senators serve fixed terms, except in the case of a double dissolution. In the event of a dissolution, the terms of all the members of the Senate. Although elections for the House of Representatives have usually corresponded to half-elections of the Senate, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives lasts no more than three years after it first meets, but may be dissolved earlier. After the House is dissolved or expires, writs for election must be issued within 10 days, the next House must meet within 140 days of the writs being issued. The terms of representing the states are of fixed duration. The terms of representing the territories are not fixed, and are tied to the dates of elections for the House of Representatives. Where a House is dissolved early, House and Senate elections may be asynchronous until either the House is again dissolved sufficiently early or a double dissolution occurs. The Australian Constitution requires that in half-Senate elections the election of State senators must take place one year before the places become vacant. As the terms of half the senators end on 30 June, there is no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives, and elections for half the Senate only have taken place in the past. There is a government and electorate preference for Senate elections to take place simultaneously with those of the House of Representatives

15.
Political party
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A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. The party agrees on some proposed policies and programmes, with a view to promoting the good or furthering their supporters interests. While there is some international commonality in the way political parties are recognized, and in how they operate, there are many differences. Many political parties have a core, but some do not. In many democracies, political parties are elected by the electorate to run a government, many countries, such as Germany and India, have several significant political parties, and some nations have one-party systems, such as China and Cuba. The United States is in practice a two-party system, but with smaller parties also participating. Its two most important parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, the first political factions, cohering around a basic, if fluid, set of principles, emerged from the Exclusion Crisis and Glorious Revolution in late 17th century England. The leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government in the period 1721–1742, as the century wore on, the factions slowly began to adopt more coherent political tendencies as the interests of their power bases began to diverge. The Whig partys initial base of support from the aristocratic families widened to include the emerging industrial interests. A major influence on the Whigs were the political ideas of John Locke. They acted as a united, though unavailing, opposition to Whig corruption and they finally regained power with the accession of George III in 1760 under Lord Bute. Out of this chaos, the first distinctive parties emerged, the first such party was the Rockingham Whigs under the leadership of Charles Watson-Wentworth and the intellectual guidance of the political philosopher Edmund Burke. A coalition including the Rockingham Whigs, led by the Earl of Shelburne, took power in 1782, the new government, led by the radical politician Charles James Fox in coalition with Lord North, was soon brought down and replaced by William Pitt the Younger in 1783. It was now that a genuine two-party system began to emerge, by the time of this split the Whig party was increasingly influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith, founder of classical liberalism. As Wilson and Reill note, Adam Smiths theory melded nicely with the political stance of the Whig Party. The modern Conservative Party was created out of the Pittite Tories of the early 19th century, in the late 1820s disputes over political reform broke up this grouping. A government led by the Duke of Wellington collapsed amidst dire election results, following this disaster Robert Peel set about assembling a new coalition of forces. However, a consensus reached on these issues ended party politics in 1816 for a decade, Party politics revived in 1829 with the split of the Democratic-Republican Party into the Jacksonian Democrats led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay

16.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia

17.
States and territories of Australia
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Australia is a federation of six states, together with ten federal territories. The Australian mainland consists of five of the six federated states, the state of Tasmania is an island about 200 kilometers from the mainland. The remaining seven territories are classified for some purposes as external territories, aside from the Australian Antarctic Territory, which is Australias claim to part of Antarctica, Australia is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area. Since 2015, federal control has also extended to the formerly self-governing territory of Norfolk Island. Three of the territories are inhabited, the others are uninhabited. The term geographic Australia is used by the Australian government to describe the area covered by demographic statistics such as national population figures and this area comprises Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands in addition to the six states and three mainland territories. Norfolk Island is the territory with a native population that is not part of geographic Australia. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory at the end of this period, from 1923 to 1968, the United Nations Trust Territory of Nauru was under Australian administration, until independence as the Republic of Nauru. From 1949 to 1975, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was a territory of Australia, the states originated as separate British colonies prior to Federation in 1901. Upon Federation, the six colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the territories, by contrast, are from a constitutional perspective directly subject to the Commonwealth Government, laws for territories are determined by the Australian Parliament. Most of the territories are directly administered by the Commonwealth Government, in the self-governing territories, the Australian Parliament retains the full power to legislate, and can override laws made by the territorial institutions, which it has done on rare occasions. For the purposes of Australian intergovernmental bodies, the Northern Territory, each state has a Governor, appointed by the Queen, which by convention she does on the advice of the state Premier. The Administrator of the Northern Territory, by contrast, is appointed by the Governor-General, Jervis Bay Territory is the only non-self-governing internal territory. Until 1989, it was administered as if it were a part of the ACT, although residents of the Jervis Bay Territory are generally subject to laws made by the ACT Legislative Assembly, they are not represented in the Assembly. They are represented in the Parliament of Australia as part of the Electoral Division of Fraser in the ACT, in other respects, the territory is administered directly by the Federal Government through the Territories portfolio. The external territory of Norfolk Island possessed a degree of self-government from 1979 until 2015, each state has a bicameral parliament except Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922. The lower house is called the Legislative Assembly, except in South Australia and Tasmania, Tasmania is the only state to use proportional representation for elections to its lower house, all others elect members from single member constituencies, using preferential voting. The upper house is called the Legislative Council and is elected from multi-member constituencies using proportional representation

18.
Local government in Australia
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Local government in Australia is the third tier of government in Australia administered by the states and territories, which in turn are beneath the federal tier. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and two referenda in the 1970s and 1980s to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful, every state government recognises local government in their respective constitutions. Unlike Canada, or the United States there is one level of local government in each state. In August 2016 there were 547 local councils in Australia, despite the single level of local government in Australia, there are a number of extensive areas with relatively low populations which are not a part of any local government area. Despite this, they occupy a role in each state. State-based departments oversee local councils and may intervene in their affairs, the first official local government in Australia was the Perth Town Trust, established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840, the City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation, however local government was regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam Government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction, general purpose grants become available for the first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics, each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in the number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils, the main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy. An increase in the range of services offered by councils, the council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced a larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia, in 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils, Local governments are subdivisions of the states and the Northern Territory. Although they are all identical in function, Australian local governments have a variety of names. The term local government area is used to refer collectively to all local governments regardless of status, whilst the local governing body itself is generally known as a council. Today, the borough, city, district, municipality, region, shire, town, community government, Aboriginal shire

19.
City of Moreland
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The City of Moreland is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the northern suburbs between 4 and 10 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre. The Moreland Local Government Area covers 51 km², and at the 2011 Census, a consequence of the change from single-Councillor to multi-Councillor wards was a change in election method from preferential voting to proportional representation. Elections are held four years, with the last elections held in October 2012. Moreland Council runs the Counihan Galley at the Brunswick Town Hall, other art events supported by Council include the MoreArt event, an art in public spaces show located along the Upfield transport corridor. The Council also sponsors various street festivals around the municipality, the best known being the Sydney Road Street Party, one of the highlights of the Moreland City Council is the public library. Moreland City Libraries have five branches, councillors are elected from three multi-member wards, two electing four members, and one electing three, for a total of eleven councillors. The current council was elected in October 2016, as its composition is, The current Mayor is Helen Davidson and they were elected by council on 14 November 2016 and will serve the 2016/2017 year

20.
City of Fremantle
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The City of Fremantle is a local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of 19.0 square kilometres, in 1848 a town trust was formed comprising a chairman and a committee of five. For the next years they set about constructing roads and many fine public buildings with the use of convict labour. By 1870 the population of Fremantle had reached 3,796 and was a flourishing town. There was a move among the colonists to secure control of the management of their affairs and in 1871 the Fremantle Town Council was formed, with a chairman. Two of the achievements of the town council were a reliable supply of pure water. By 1928 Fremantle had a population of 22,340 and a revenue of £73,354 - enough to warrant a claim for city status. City status was conferred upon Fremantle on the 3 June 1929 as an honour in 1929. North Fremantle, originally part of Fremantle, broke away in October 1895 to become an independent municipality, the first mayor of North Fremantle was Daniel Keen Congdon. The two municipalities were reunited by an order of the Governor in Executive Council as from 1 November 1961, the City is divided into six wards, each electing two councillors. Each councillor serves a term, and half-elections are held every two years. The 1961 population of the Town of North Fremantle was 2,363, Fremantle has sister city relationships with five other cities

21.
Australian labour movement
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The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both trade unions and political activity. At its broadest, the movement encompasses an industrial wing and a political wing, Trade unions in Australia may be organised on the basis of craft unionism, general unionism, or industrial unionism. The leadership and membership of unions hold and have at times held a wide range of political views, including communist, socialist. According to ABS figures, in August 2013, there were 1.7 million members of unions in relation to their main job. A further 4% did not know whether they were union members or not. Of those who were a union member in relation to their main job. Trade union membership has declined over recent years, with 2013 being the lowest proportion in the history of the ABS series. According to ACTU figures, the number of members of unions in 1983 was 2,376,900 but by 2002 it was 1,833,700. The colony of New South Wales came into existence in 1788 as a penal colony, Australia never had formal slavery, but the convicts transported to the colony were required to work, without pay, either for the administration or could be required to work for private landholders. Others, particularly the Kanaka from the South Pacific islands, were kidnapped or otherwise induced into exploitative long-term indentured service contracts. Initially, following British laws, trade unions in Australia were suppressed, a trade union or other association could also be regarded as illegal because of being a restraint of trade. On the other hand, the position was slowly liberalised and through the British Trade Union Act 1871 and the Conspiracy, by 1902, the Master and Servant Act 1823 had been modified to include forfeit of wages if the written or unwritten contract for work was unfulfilled. Absence from place of work was punishable by imprisonment of up to three months with or without hard labour. There were also penalties of up to ₤10 for anyone who harboured, concealed or re-employed a servant who had deserted or absconded or absented himself from his duty implied in the contract. Under the Master and Servant Acts enacted in the Australian colonies in the 1840s, as little as one hour’s absence by a free servant without permission could precipitate a punishment of prison or the treadmill. In the 1800s, most Victorians worked up to 14 hours a day, there was no sick leave, no holiday leave, and employers could sack employees at any time, without giving a reason. On 18 August 1855 the Stonemasons Society in Sydney issued an ultimatum to employers that in six months time, masons would only work an eight-hour day. However men working on the Holy Trinity Church in Argyle Cut and they pre-emptively went on strike, won the eight-hour day, and celebrated with a victory dinner on 1 October 1855

22.
Climate change
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Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time. Climate change may refer to a change in weather conditions. Climate change is caused by such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics. Certain human activities have also identified as significant causes of recent climate change. Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations, more recent data are provided by the instrumental record. The most general definition of change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time. Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, the term climate change is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change. Anthropogenic climate change is caused by activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earths natural processes. In this sense, especially in the context of environmental policy, within scientific journals, global warming refers to surface temperature increases while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas levels affect. A related term is climatic change, in 1966, the World Meteorological Organization proposed the term climatic change to encompass all forms of climatic variability on time-scales longer than 10 years, regardless of cause. Change was a given and climatic was used as an adjective to describe this kind of change, when it was realized that human activities had a potential to drastically alter the climate, the term climate change replaced climatic change as the dominant term to reflect an anthropogenic cause. Climate change was incorporated in the title of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate change, used as a noun, became an issue rather than the technical description of changing weather. On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the Sun and this energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions. Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcings or forcing mechanisms, there are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond more slowly in reaction to climate forcings. There are also key factors which when exceeded can produce rapid change. Forcing mechanisms can be internal or external. Internal forcing mechanisms are natural processes within the system itself

23.
Refugee
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A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the state or the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum. The lead international agency coordinating refugee protection is the United Nations Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations have a second Office for refugees, which is the UNRWA. This however is solely responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees and it refers to shelter or protection from danger or distress, from Latin fugere, to flee, and refugium, a taking refuge, place to flee back to. In Western history, the term was first applied to French Huguenots, after the Edict of Fontainebleau, who again migrated from France after the Edict of Nantes revocation. The word meant one seeking asylum, until around 1914, when it evolved to mean one fleeing home and this legal concept of a refugee was expanded by the Conventions 1967 Protocol. European Unions minimum standards definition of refugee, underlined by Art, in UN parlance, the concept of refugee also includes descendants of refugees but only in the case of two specific groups, viz. Palestinian refugees and Sahrawi refugees. The UN does not consider refugee status to be hereditary for any other group, the UNHCR also protects people in refugee-like situations. It gives credence to the notion that personal individualized ‘fear of being persecuted’ is the reason for needing support. War, upheaval, famine and pestilence do not in the conventional definition make for refugee status. It does not matter that civilian deaths as a proportion of deaths in war escalated to 10% in World War I and it only matters that persons fear the persecution of their state. Furthermore, not all reasons for seeking asylum in another country satisfy the definition of refugee according to article 1A of the 1951 Refugee Convention, fleeing droughts and hunger, fleeing economic hardship, natural disasters and not even war or terror satisfied the definition of 1951. The idea that a person who sought sanctuary in a place could not be harmed without inviting divine retribution was familiar to the ancient Greeks. However, the right to asylum in a church or other holy place was first codified in law by King Æthelberht of Kent in about AD600. Similar laws were implemented throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, the related concept of political exile also has a long history, Ovid was sent to Tomis, Voltaire was sent to England. By the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, nations recognized each others sovereignty, the term refugee is sometimes applied to people who might fit the definition outlined by the 1951 Convention, were it to be applied retroactively. The repeated waves of pogroms that swept Eastern Europe in the 19th, beginning in the 19th century, Muslim people emigrated to Turkey from Europe. The Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 caused 800,000 people to leave their homes, various groups of people were officially designated refugees beginning in World War I

24.
Indigenous Australians
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Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands prior to European colonisation. In present-day Australia these groups are divided into local communities. At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken, it is estimated that 120 to 145 of these remain in use. Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English, a population collapse following European settlement, and a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans may have caused a massive and early depopulation. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag have been among the flags of Australia. The word aboriginal has been in the English language since at least the 16th century, to mean, first or earliest known and it comes from the Latin word aborigines, derived from ab and origo. The word was used in Australia to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789 and it soon became capitalised and employed as the common name to refer to all Indigenous Australians. Strictly speaking, Aborigine is the noun and Aboriginal the adjectival form, however, use of either Aborigine or Aboriginal to refer to individuals has acquired negative connotations in some sectors of the community, and it is generally regarded as insensitive and even offensive. The more acceptable and correct expression is Aboriginal Australians or Aboriginal people, the term Indigenous Australians, which also includes Torres Strait Islander peoples, has found increasing acceptance, particularly since the 1980s. The broad term Aboriginal Australians includes many groups that often identify under names from local Indigenous languages. Anindilyakwa on Groote Eylandt off Arnhem Land, Palawah in Tasmania and these larger groups may be further subdivided, for example, Anangu recognises localised subdivisions such as Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Luritja and Antikirinya. It is estimated that prior to the arrival of British settlers, the Torres Strait Islanders possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea, accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation Aboriginal Australians. This has been another factor in the promotion of the inclusive term Indigenous Australians. Six percent of Indigenous Australians identify themselves fully as Torres Strait Islanders, a further 4% of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as having both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage. The Torres Strait Islands comprise over 100 islands which were annexed by Queensland in 1879, eddie Mabo was from Mer or Murray Island in the Torres Strait, which the famous Mabo decision of 1992 involved. The term blacks has been used to refer to Indigenous Australians since European settlement, while originally related to skin colour, the term is used today to indicate Aboriginal heritage or culture in general and refers to people of any skin pigmentation. In the 1970s, many Aboriginal activists, such as Gary Foley, proudly embraced the term black, the book included interviews with several members of the Aboriginal community including Robert Jabanungga reflecting on contemporary Aboriginal culture

25.
Anti-racism
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Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. The European discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus did not occur until 1492, however, two Papal bulls announced several decades before that event were designed to help ward off increasing Muslim invasions into Europe, which they believed would have an effect on the New World. He then granted Portugal the right to subdue and even enslave Muslims whether white or any race, pagans. Racial views of Superiority started developing and became more acute about these slaves, several decades later, European explorers and missionaries spread Christianity to the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Pope Alexander VI had awarded colonial rights over most of the discovered lands by the Iberian Kingdoms of Castile. Under their patronato system, however, Royal authorities, not the Vatican, thus, the 1455 Papal bull Romanus Pontifex granted the Portuguese all lands behind Cape Bojador allowing to reduce pagans and other enemies of Christ to perpetual servitude. These arrangements were confirmed in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. The European origins of racism spread to the Americas alongside the Europeans, King Ferdinand enacted the Laws of Burgos and Valladolid in response. However enforcement was lax, and the New Laws of 1542 have to be made to take a stronger line and these issues gradually permeated to the lower social levels, where they were a reality lived by men and women of different races from the European racial majority. This afforded their tiny religious denomination some moral authority to begin the Abolitionist movement on both sides of the Atlantic. Woolman died of smallpox in England in 1775, shortly after crossing the Atlantic to bring his message to the Quakers of the British Isles. During and after the American Revolution, Quaker ministrations and preachings against slavery began to spread beyond their movement, in 1783,300 Quakers, chiefly from the London area, presented the British Parliament with their signatures on the first petition against the slave trade. The twelve founding members included nine Quakers, and three pioneering Anglicans, Granville Sharp, Thomas Clarkson, and William Wilberforce — all evangelical Christians, later successes in opposing racism were won by the abolitionist movement, both in England and the United States. Though many Abolitionists did not regard blacks or mulattos as equal to whites, they did in general believe in freedom, a few, like John Brown, went further. Brown was willing to die on behalf of, as he said, millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments. Many black Abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, explicitly argued for the humanity of blacks and mulattoes, prior to and during the American Civil War, racial egalitarianism in the North became much stronger and more generally disseminated. The success of black troops in the Union Army had a impact on Northern sentiment. The Emancipation Proclamation was a example of this shift in political attitudes

26.
State ownership
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State ownership refers to property interests that are vested in the state or a public body representing a community as opposed to an individual or private party. State ownership may refer to ownership and control of any asset, industry, or enterprise at any level, the process of bringing an asset into state ownership is called nationalization or municipalization. State ownership is one of the three forms of property ownership, differentiated from private, cooperative and common ownership. In market-based economies, state-owned assets are managed and operated as joint-stock corporations with a government owning either all or a controlling stake of the shares. This form is referred to as a state-owned enterprise. Governments may also use the profitable entities they own to support the general budget, the creation of a state-owned enterprise from other forms of public property is called corporatization. In Soviet-type economies, state property was the dominant form of industry as property, a state-owned enterprise is a commercial enterprise owned by a government entity in a capitalist market or mixed economy. Reasons for state ownership of enterprises are that the enterprise in question is a natural monopoly or because the government is promoting economic development. State-owned enterprises may or may not be expected to operate in a commercial manner. The transformation of entities and government agencies into government-owned corporations is sometimes a precursor to privatization. State capitalist economies are capitalist market economies that have high degrees of government-owned businesses, Public ownership of the means of production is a subset of social ownership, which is the defining characteristic of a socialist economy. However, state ownership and nationalization by themselves are not socialist, as they can exist under a variety of different political. State ownership by itself does not imply social ownership where income rights belong to society as a whole, as such, state ownership is only one possible expression of public ownership, which itself is one variation of the broader concept of social ownership. There is a variety of organizational forms for state-run industry. State ownership is advocated as a form of ownership for practical concerns. Proponents assume that the state, as the representative of the public interest, would manage resources, as a form of social ownership, state ownership may be contrasted with cooperatives and common ownership. Socialist theories and political ideologies that favor state ownership of the means of production may be labelled state socialism, engels argued that state ownership of commercial industry would represent the final stage of capitalism, consisting of ownership and management of large-scale production and manufacture by the state. There is a distinction to be made between state ownership and public property, the former may refer to assets operated by a specific state institution or branch of government, used exclusively by that branch, such as a research laboratory

27.
Minimum wage
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A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers must legally pay their workers. Equivalently, it is the floor below which workers may not sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in many jurisdictions, differences of opinion exist about the benefits, supporters of the minimum wage say it increases the standard of living of workers, reduces poverty, reduces inequality, boosts morale and forces businesses to be more efficient. Modern minimum wage laws trace their origin to the Ordinance of Labourers, King Edward III, who was a wealthy landowner, was dependent, like his lords, on serfs to work the land. In the autumn of 1348, the Black Plague reached England, the severe shortage of labor caused wages to soar and encouraged King Edward III to set a wage ceiling. Subsequent amendments to the ordinance, such as the Statute of Labourers, while the laws governing wages initially set a ceiling on compensation, they were eventually used to set a living wage. An amendment to the Statute of Labourers in 1389 effectively fixed wages to the price of food, as time passed, the Justice of the Peace, who was charged with setting the maximum wage, also began to set formal minimum wages. The practice was eventually formalized with the passage of the Act Fixing a Minimum Wage in 1604 by King James I for workers in the textile industry. By the early 19th century, the Statutes of Labourers was repealed as increasingly capitalistic England embraced laissez-faire policies which disfavored regulations of wages, the subsequent 19th century saw significant labor unrest affect many industrial nations. As trade unions were decriminalized during the century, attempts to control wages through collective agreement were made, however, this meant that a uniform minimum wage was not possible. It was not until the 1890s that the first modern attempts to regulate minimum wages were seen in New Zealand. The movement for a wage was initially focused on stopping sweatshop labor. The sweatshops employed large numbers of women and young workers, paying them what were considered to be substandard wages, the sweatshop owners were thought to have unfair bargaining power over their employees, and a minimum wage was proposed as a means to make them pay fairly. Over time, the changed to helping people, especially families. The first modern national minimum wage law was enacted by the government of New Zealand in 1894, followed by Australia in 1896, in the United States, statutory minimum wages were first introduced nationally in 1938, and they were reintroduced and expanded in the United Kingdom in 1998. There is now legislation or binding collective bargaining regarding minimum wage in more than 90 percent of all countries, in the European Union,22 member states out of 28 currently have national minimum wages. Currently the American federal minimum wage rests at seven dollars, twenty-five cents per hour, however, some states do not recognize the minimum wage law such as Louisiana and Tennessee. Other states operate below the minimum wage such as Georgia

28.
Working time
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Working time is the period of time that a person spends at paid labor. Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week, many countries regulate the work week by law, such as stipulating minimum daily rest periods, annual holidays, and a maximum number of working hours per week. Working time may vary person to person, often depending on location, culture, lifestyle choice. For example, someone who is supporting children and paying a large mortgage will need to work hours to meet basic costs of living than someone of the same earning power without children. Because fewer people than ever are having children, choosing part time work is becoming more popular, standard working hours refers to the legislation to limit the working hours per day, per week, per month or per year. If an employee needs to work overtime, the employer will need to pay overtime payments to employees as required in the law. Generally speaking, standard working hours of countries worldwide are around 40 to 44 hours per week, maximum working hours refers to the maximum working hours of an employee. The employee cannot work more than the level specified in the working hours law. Kung Bushmen was estimated to work two-and-a-half days per week. Aggregated comparisons show that on average the working day was less than five hours, subsequent studies in the 1970s examined the Machiguenga of the Upper Amazon and the Kayapo of northern Brazil. Popular perception is still aligned with the old consensus that hunter-gatherers worked far in excess of modern humans forty-hour week. Peasants and farm laborers moved from areas to work in urban factories. Before collective bargaining and worker protection laws, there was an incentive for a company to maximize the return on expensive machinery by having long hours. Records indicate that work schedules as long as twelve to sixteen hours per day, recent articles supporting a four-day week have argued that reduced work hours would increase consumption and invigorate the economy. However, other state that consumption would decrease. Other arguments for the week include improvements to workers level of education. Reduced hours also save money on day care costs and transportation and these benefits increase workforce productivity on a per-hour basis. The workweek, in most of the world, dropped steadily. The limitation of working hours is also proclaimed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the decline continued at a faster pace in Europe, for example, France adopted a 35-hour workweek in 2000

29.
Queensland
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Queensland is the second-largest and third-most-populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west, to the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland has a population of 4,750,500, concentrated along the coast, the state is the worlds sixth largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km2. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australias third largest city, often referred to as the Sunshine State, Queensland is home to 10 of Australias 30 largest cities and is the nations third largest economy. Tourism in the state, fuelled largely by its tropical climate, is a major industry. Queensland was first inhabited by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, the first European to land in Queensland was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, who explored the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula near present-day Weipa. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney, New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement was allowed from 1842, the state was named in honour of Queen Victoria, who on 6 June 1859 signed Letters Patent separating the colony from New South Wales. The 6th of June is now celebrated statewide as Queensland Day. Queensland achieved statehood with the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, the history of Queensland spans thousands of years, encompassing both a lengthy indigenous presence, as well as the eventful times of post-European settlement. The north-eastern Australian region was explored by Dutch, Spanish and French navigators before being encountered by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770, the Australian Labor Party has its origin as a formal organisation in Queensland and the town of Barcaldine is the symbolic birthplace of the party. June 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of its creation as a colony from New South Wales. The Aboriginal occupation of Queensland is thought to predate 50,000 BC, likely via boat or land bridge across Torres Strait, during the last ice age Queenslands landscape became more arid and largely desolate, making food and other supplies scarce. This led to the worlds first seed-grinding technology, warming again made the land hospitable, which brought high rainfall along the eastern coast, stimulating the growth of the states tropical rainforests. In February 1606, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed near the site of what is now Weipa and this was the first recorded landing of a European in Australia, and it also marked the first reported contact between European and Aboriginal Australian people. The region was explored by French and Spanish explorers prior to the arrival of Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. Cook claimed the east coast under instruction from King George III of the United Kingdom on 22 August 1770 at Possession Island, naming Eastern Australia, including Queensland, the Aboriginal population declined significantly after a smallpox epidemic during the late 18th century

30.
Medicare (Australia)
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Medicare is a publicly funded universal health care system in Australia. Medibank was renamed Medicare in 1984, including these rebates, Medicare is the major component of the total Commonwealth health budget, taking up about 43% of the total. The program was estimated to cost $18.3 billion in 2007–08, in 2009 before means testing was introduced, the private health insurance rebate was estimated to cost $4 billion, around 20% of the total budget. The overall figure was projected to rise by almost 4% annually in terms in 2007. In 2013/4 Medicare expenditure was $19 billion and expected to reach $23.6 billion in 2016/7, there was an increase in the number of Australians covered by health insurance plans following the end of the Second World War. However, a proportion of the Australian population continued to lack coverage for health risks in the early 1970s. In 1972, 17% of Australians outside of Queensland were uninsured, the Whitlam Labor government, elected in 1972, sought to put an end to this two-tier system by extending healthcare coverage to the entire population. Before the Labor Party came to office, Bill Hayden, one of the Labor Partys front bench members of parliament, there was opposition to the system from the Liberal-Country Party Coalition-controlled Senate. The Health Insurance Bill 1973 and the bills were rejected by the Senate on three occasions. The Medibank legislation was one of the bills which resulted in a double dissolution of Parliament on 11 April 1974, and was passed at a subsequent joint sitting of Parliament on 7 August 1974. The original Medibank scheme was to be financed by a 1. 35% levy but the bills were rejected by the Senate, Medibank started on schedule on 1 July 1975. After a change of government at the December 1975 election, the Fraser Coalition government established the Medibank Review Committee in January 1976, the Committee findings were not made public but the new program was announced in a Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 20 May 1976. Medibank Mark II was launched on 1 October 1976 and included a 2. 5% levy on taxable incomes, other changes included reducing rebates to doctors and hospitals. On 1 October 1976, the Fraser government also passed the Medibank Private bill and this legislation allowed the Health Insurance Commission to enter the private health insurance business. This legislation led to the original Medibank closing in 1981, on 1 February 1984, the original Medibank model was reinstated by the Hawke Labor government, but renamed Medicare to distinguish it from Medibank Private which continued to exist. The major changes introduced by the Fraser government were largely reversed, Medicare is presently nominally funded by an income tax surcharge, known as the Medicare levy, which is currently 2% of a persons taxable income. An exemption applies to low income earners, with different thresholds applying to singles, families, seniors and pensioners, since 2015–16, the exemptions applied to taxable incomes below $21,335, or $33,738 for seniors and pensioners. The phasing-in range is for taxable incomes between $21,335 and $26,668, or $33,738 and $42,172 for seniors and pensioners, the Medicare levy increased from 1. 5% to 2% on 1 July 2014, to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme

31.
Public housing
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Public housing may be a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing can also be seen as a remedy to housing inequality. Some social housing organizations construct for purchase, particularly in Spain, although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary within different contexts. The origins of municipal housing lie in the urban population increase caused by the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. In the large cities of the period, many commentators, such as Octavia Hill and Charles Booth reported on the squalor, sickness. Henry Mayhew, visiting Bethnal Green, wrote in the The Morning Chronicle, roads were unmade, often mere alleys, houses small and without foundations, subdivided and often around unpaved courts. An almost total lack of drainage and sewerage was made worse by the ponds formed by the excavation of brickearth. Pigs and cows in back yards, noxious trades like boiling tripe, melting tallow, or preparing cats meat, and slaughter houses, dustheaps, and lakes of putrefying night soil added to the filth. Some philanthropists began to provide housing in tenement blocks, and some factory owners built entire villages for their workers, such as Saltaire in 1853 and it was in 1885, after the report from a Royal Commission in England, that the state first took an interest. This led to the Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1885, nearly 6,000 individuals were crammed into the packed streets, where one child in four died before his or her first birthday. Arthur Morrison wrote the influential A Child of the Jago, an account of the life of a child in the slum, construction of the Boundary Estate was begun in 1890 by the Metropolitan Board of Works and completed by the recently formed London County Council in 1900. The success of this project spurred many local councils to embark on similar construction schemes in the early 20th century. The Arts and Crafts movement and Ebenezer Howards Garden city ideas led to the leafy London County Council cottage estates such as firstly Totterdown Fields and later Wormholt and Old Oak. The First World War indirectly provided a new impetus, when the physical health. In 1916, 41% of conscripts were unfit to serve, Public housing projects were tried out in some European countries and the United States in the 1930s, but only became widespread globally after the Second World War. Minha Casa Minha Vida, the Brazilian governments social housing program, was launched in March 2009 with a budget of R$36 billion to one million homes. The second stage of the program, included within the government Growth Acceleration Program was announced in March 2010 and this stage foresees the construction of a further two million homes. Of the total 3 million homes,1, all funds for Minha Casa Minha Vida properties are provided by the Brazilian public bank, Caixa Econômica Federal

32.
Public transport
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Public transport modes include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail, high-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world. Most public transport runs to a timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway. Share taxis offer services in many parts of the world. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service, there are distinct differences in urban public transit between Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, mass transit operations are run by profit-driven privately owned and publicly traded mass transit. In North America, mass transit operations are run by municipal transit authorities. In Europe, mass transit operations are run by both state-owned and private companies. Public transport services can be profit-driven by use of pay-by-the-distance fares or funded by government subsidies in which flat rate fares are charged to each passenger. Services can be profitable through high ridership numbers and high farebox recovery ratios, or can be regulated. Fully subsidized, zero-fare services operate in some towns and cities, for geographical, historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. It has 3,400 members from 92 countries, conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferries, and the earliest public transport was water transport, on land people walked or rode an animal. Ferries appear in Greek mythology—corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon to take them to Hades, the omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829. The first passenger railway opened in 1806, it ran between Swansea and Mumbles in southwest Wales in the United Kingdom. In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northeast England, the usability of different types of public transport, and its overall appeal, can be measured by seven criteria, although they overlap somewhat. These are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers have to walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey, timeliness is how long they have to wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from the shortest route, an airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports

33.
State school
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State schools generally refer to primary or secondary schools mandated for or offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation. The term may refer to public institutions of post-secondary education. State education is inclusive, both in its treatment of students and in that enfranchisement for the government of public education is as broad as for government generally and it is often organized and operated to be a deliberate model of the civil community in which it functions. Although typically provided to groups of students in classrooms in a school, it may be provided in-home, employing visiting teachers. It can also be provided in non-school, non-home settings, such as shopping mall space, State education is generally available to all. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to school up to a certain age. In the case of private schooling, schools operate independently of the state, the funding for state schools, on the other hand, is provided by tax revenues, so that even individuals who do not attend school help to ensure that society is educated. In poverty stricken societies, authorities are often lax on compulsory school attendance because child labour is exploited and it is these same children whose income-securing labor cannot be forfeited to allow for school attendance. The term public education when applied to schools is not synonymous with the term publicly funded education. Government may make a policy decision that it wants to have some financial resources distributed in support of, and it may want to have some control over. Grants-in-aid of private schools and vouchers systems provide examples of publicly funded private education, conversely, a state school may rely heavily on private funding such as high fees or private donations and still be considered state by virtue of governmental ownership and control. In some countries, private associations or churches can operate schools according to their own principles, when these specific requirements are met, especially in the area of the school curriculum, the schools will qualify to receive state funding. Proponents of state education assert it to be necessary because of the need in society for people who are capable of reading, writing. In most industrialized countries, these views are distinctly in the minority, Government schools are free to attend for Australian citizens and permanent residents, whereas independent schools usually charge attendance fees. They can be divided into two categories, open and selective schools, the open schools accept all students from their government-defined catchment areas. Government schools educate approximately 65% of Australian students, with approximately 34% in Catholic, regardless of whether a school is part of the Government or independent systems, they are required to adhere to the same curriculum frameworks of their state or territory. The curriculum framework however provides for flexibility in the syllabus. Public or Government funded schools are found throughout Bangladesh and these schools mostly teach students from Year 1 to 10, with examinations for students in years 5,8, and 10

34.
Venezuela
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Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, Guyana on the east, Venezuela covers 916,445 km2 and has an estimated population of 31775371. The territory now known as Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples and it gained full independence as a separate country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments. This new constitution changed the name of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Venezuela is a presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District. Venezuela also claims all Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River, oil was discovered in the early 20th century, and Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves and has been one of the worlds leading exporters of oil. Previously an underdeveloped exporter of commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports. The recovery of oil prices in the early 2000s gave Venezuela oil funds not seen since the 1980s, the Venezuelan government then established populist policies that initially boosted the Venezuelan economy and increased social spending, significantly reducing economic inequality and poverty. However, such policies later became controversial since they destabilized the economy, resulting in hyperinflation, an economic depression. According to the most popular and accepted version, in 1499, the stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, so he named the region Veneziola Piccola Venezia. The name acquired its current spelling as a result of Spanish influence, where the suffix -uela is used as a term, thus. The German language 16th century-term for the area, Klein-Venedig, also means little Venice, however, Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gave a different account. In his work Summa de geografía, he states that they found people who called themselves the Veneciuela. Thus, the name Venezuela may have evolved from the native word and it is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish conquest, it has been estimated at around one million. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historic groups such as the Kalina, Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, the Timoto-Cuica culture was the most complex society in Pre-Columbian Venezuela, with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks and their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops, regional crops included potatoes and ullucos

35.
Bolivarian Revolution
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They interpret Bolívars ideas from a socialist perspective. Simón Bolívar has left a lasting imprint on the Venezuelas history in particular. Chavez as a cadet was a celebrant of the Bolivarian passion story. Chavismo policies include nationalization, social programs, and opposition to neoliberalism. According to Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan socialism accepts private property, chavismo also support participatory democracy and workplace democracy. In January 2007, Chávez proposed to build the state, whose main idea is to build self-government institutions like communal councils, communes. Analysts have pointed out additional anti-American, populist, and authoritarian-leaning traits in those governments, the social programs that came into being during the term of Hugo Chávez sought to reduce social disparities and were funded in large part by oil revenues. The sustainability and design of the programs have been both praised and criticized. Specific examples of programs are listed below. Plan Bolívar 2000 was the first of the Bolivarian Missions enacted under of administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. According to the United States Department of State, Chávez wanted to send the message that the military was not a force of popular repression, but rather a force for development and security. The State Department also commented that this happened only 23 days after his inauguration, the plan involved around 40,000 Venezuelan soldiers engaged in door-to-door anti-poverty activities, including mass vaccinations, food distribution in slum areas, and education. Several scandals affected the program as allegations of corruption were formulated against Generals involved in the plan, the mission was to provide comprehensive publicly funded health care, dental care, and sports training to poor and marginalized communities in Venezuela. Barrio Adentro featured the construction of thousands of iconic two-story medical clinics—consultorios or doctor’s offices—as well as staffing with resident certified medical professionals. Barrio Adentro constitutes an attempt to deliver a de facto form of health care, seeking to guarantee access to quality. As of 2006, the staff included 31,439 professionals, technical personnel, the Latin American branch of the World Health Organization and UNICEF both praised the program. Though positive outcomes have come from the mission, there have been some struggles as well, in July 2007, Douglas León Natera, chairman of The Venezuelan Medical Federation, reported that up to 70% of the modules of Barrio Adentro were either abandoned or were left unfinished. In 2014, residents in Caracas also complained of the service despite large funding from the Venezuelan government, Mission Habitats goal is the construction of thousands of new housing units for the poor

36.
Latin America
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Latin America is a group of countries and dependencies in the Americas where Romance languages are predominant. It is therefore broader than the terms Ibero-America or Hispanic America—though it usually excludes French Canada and it has an area of approximately 19,197,000 km2, almost 13% of the Earths land surface area. As of 2015, its population was estimated at more than 626 million and in 2014, Latin America had a combined nominal GDP of 5,573,397 million USD and a GDP PPP of 7,531,585 million USD. The term Latin America was first used in 1861 in La revue des races Latines, a further investigation of the concept of Latin America is by Michel Gobat in the American Historical Review. The term was first used in Paris in an 1856 conference by the Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao and this term was also used in 1861 by French scholars in La revue des races Latines, a magazine dedicated to the Pan-Latinism movement. Latin America is, therefore, defined as all parts of the Americas that were once part of the Spanish. By this definition, Latin America is coterminous with Ibero-America and this definition emphasizes a similar socioeconomic history of the region, which was characterized by formal or informal colonialism, rather than cultural aspects. As such, some sources avoid this oversimplification by using the phrase Latin America, the distinction between Latin America and Anglo-America is a convention based on the predominant languages in the Americas by which Romance-language and English-speaking cultures are distinguished. Latin America can be subdivided into several subregions based on geography, politics, demographics and it may be subdivided on linguistic grounds into Hispanic America, Portuguese America and French America. *, Not a sovereign state The concept of Latin America has been criticized by a number of intellectuals, the earliest known settlement was identified at Monte Verde, near Puerto Montt in Southern Chile. Its occupation dates to some 14,000 years ago and there is disputed evidence of even earlier occupation. Over the course of millennia, people spread to all parts of the continents, by the first millennium CE, South Americas vast rainforests, mountains, plains and coasts were the home of tens of millions of people. Some groups formed more permanent settlements such as the Chibcha and the Tairona groups and these groups are in the circum Caribbean region. The Chibchas of Colombia, the Quechuas and Aymaras of Bolivia, the region was home to many indigenous peoples and advanced civilizations, including the Aztecs, Toltecs, Maya, and Inca. The Aztec empire was ultimately the most powerful civilization known throughout the Americas, with the arrival of the Europeans following Christopher Columbus voyages, the indigenous elites, such as the Incas and Aztecs, lost power to the heavy European invasion. Hernándo Cortés seized the Aztec elites power with the help of local groups who had favored the Aztec elite, epidemics of diseases brought by the Europeans, such as smallpox and measles, wiped out a large portion of the indigenous population. Historians cannot determine the number of natives who died due to European diseases, due to the lack of written records, specific numbers are hard to verify. Many of the survivors were forced to work in European plantations, intermixing between the indigenous peoples and the European colonists was very common, and, by the end of the colonial period, people of mixed ancestry formed majorities in several colonies

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Palestinian political violence
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Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence or terror motivated by Palestinian nationalism. Periodically directed toward more limited goals such as the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the PLO officially renounced terrorism in 1988, and Fatah says it no longer engages in terrorism. The PFLP-GC has been internationally inactive, the Abu Nidal organization all but dissolved on his death and exists only in name. Tactics have included hostage taking, plane hijackings, stone throwing, stabbing, shootings, several of these groups are considered terrorist organizations by the United States government, Canada and the European Union. Palestinian political violence has targeted Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Jordanians, Egyptians, Americans and citizens of other countries, the attacks have taken place within and outside Israel and have been directed at both military and civilian targets. Israeli statistics state that 3,500 Israelis have been killed and 25,000 have been wounded as a result of Palestinian violence since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and these figures include soldiers as well as civilians, including those killed in exchanges of gunfire. Israeli statistics listing hostile terrorist attacks also include incidents in which stones are thrown, personal grievances, trauma, or revenge against Israel are widely maintained to form an important element in motivating attacks against Israelis. By the end of Ottoman rule, the Jewish population of Palestine was 56,000 or one-sixth of the population. After the passing of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947 which called for the establishment of independent Arab and Jewish States, on the other hand,24,841 Jews and Israelis have died and 35,356 have been wounded during the same period. Since 1967, some estimate that some 40% of the male population of the West Bank. Around 400 Palestinian infiltrators were killed by Israeli Security Forces each year in 1951,1952 and 1953,1,000 or more were killed in 1949. At least 100 were killed during 1954–6, in total upward of 2,700 and possibly as many as 5,000 infiltrators were killed by the IDF, police, and civilians along Israels borders between 1949 and 1956. At first, Palestinians were trying to go back to their houses or to retrieve property but after 1950 these acts became more violent. After Israels Operation Black Arrow in 1955 which came as a result of a series of massacres in the city of Rehovot, the Israeli government cites dozens of these attacks as Major Arab Terrorist Attacks against Israelis prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. Between 1951 and 1956,400 Israelis were killed and 900 wounded by fedayeen attacks, according to the Anti-Defamation League n 1955 alone,260 Israeli citizens were killed or wounded by fedayeen. The Palestine Liberation Organization was founded in 1964, at its first convention in Cairo, hundreds of Palestinians met to, call for the right of self-determination and the upholding of the rights of the Palestinian nation. In order to achieve goals, a Palestinian army of liberation was thought to be essential, thus. Fatah, a Palestinian group founded in the late 1950s to organize the resistance against Israel

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Rojava
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On 17 March 2016, its de facto administration self-declared the establishment of a federal system of government as the Federation of Northern Syria–Rojava. While entertaining some foreign relations, the NSR is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria or any state or organization. The protagonists of the NSR consider its constitution a model for a federalized Syria as a whole, the updated December 2016 constitution of the polity uses the name Democratic Federal System of Northern Syria. Also known as Western Kurdistan or Syrian Kurdistan, Rojava is regarded by Kurdish nationalists as one of the four parts of Kurdistan. However, Rojava is polyethnic and home to sizable ethnic Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian and Turkmen populations and this diversity is mirrored in its constitution, society and politics. Rojava lies to the west of the Tigris along the Turkish border and it is composed of three cantons, Jazira, Kobanî, Afrin Canton, as well as the proposed Shahba region. Jazira Canton borders Iraqi Kurdistan to the southeast, other borders are fluid in the Syrian Civil War. All cantons are at latitude approximately 36 and a half degrees north and they are relatively flat except for the Kurd Mountains in Afrin Canton. In terms of governorates of Syria, Rojava is formed from most of al-Hasakah Governorate and the parts of Raqqa Governorate. Rojava is part of the Fertile Crescent, and includes archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, in antiquity, the area was part of the Mitanni kingdom, its centre being the Khabur river valley in modern-day Jazira Canton. It was then part of Assyria for a long time, the last surviving Assyrian imperial records, from between 604 BC and 599 BC, were found in and around the Assyrian city of Dūr-Katlimmu in what is now Jazira Canton. Later it was ruled by the Achaemenids, Hellenes, Artaxiads, Romans, Parthians, Sasanians, Byzantines, Kurdish settlement in Syria goes back to before the Crusades of the 11th century. A number of Kurdish military and feudal settlements from before this period have been found in Syria, such settlements have been found in the Alawite and north Lebanese mountains and around Hama and its surroundings. The Crusade fortress of Krak des Chevaliers, which is known in Arabic as Hisn al-Akrad, was originally a Kurdish military settlement before it was enlarged by the French Crusaders, similarly, the Kurd-Dagh has been inhabited by Kurds for more than a millennium. The Kurdish regiments that accompanied Saladin established self-ruled areas in and around Damascus and these settlements evolved into the Kurdish sections of Damascus of Hayy al-Akrad and the Salhiyya districts located in the north-east of Damasacus on Mount Qasioun. The Kurdish community’s role in the continued under the Ottomans. Kurdish soldiers and policeman from city were tasked with maintaining order and protecting the pilgrims’ route toward Mecca. Many Kurds from Syria’s rural hinterland joined the local Janissary corp in Damascus, later, Kurdish migrants from diverse areas, such as Diyarbakir, Mosul and Kirkuk, also joined these military units which caused an expansion of the Kurdish community in the city

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Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia

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West Papua (province)
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West Papua is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two peninsulas of the island of New Guinea. Its capital is Manokwari, although the largest city is Sorong, and the 2010 census recorded a population of 760,855, the latest official estimate is 877,437. West Papua Province was created from the portion of Papua in February 2003, initially under the name of West Irian Jaya. The province covers the Birds Head and Bomberai peninsulas and the islands of Raja Ampat. With a population of 877,437 in 2014, it is the least populous province of Indonesia except for the newly created province of North Kalimantan, even after Indonesias independence in 1945, Papua and Irian Jaya were retained by the Dutch for various reasons. However, Indonesia claimed all of the territory of the former Dutch East Indies, including the Dutch New Guinea holdings and this vote was referred to as the Act of Free Choice. But, the vote was in fact conducted by consensus decision-making, or consensus of elders and this body was coerced into unanimously voting to remain part of Indonesia, the territory was named as the province of Irian Jaya, later Papua. The result of the vote was rejected by Papuan nationalists. The independence movement for West Papua has continued, primarily through peaceful protest and international pressure, West Papua was created from the western portion of Papua province in February 2003, initially under the name of Irian Jaya Barat, it was later renamed Papua Barat on 7 February 2007. In November 2004, an Indonesian court agreed that the split violated Papuas autonomy laws, however, the court ruled that because the new province had already been created, it should remain separate from Papua. The ruling also prohibited the creation of another proposed province, Central Irian Jaya, the split is in line with the general trend of provincial splits that is occurring in all parts of Indonesia in the post-Suharto era. The province changed its name to West Papua on 7 February 2007, in 2000 the areas now forming West Papua province consisted of three regencies – Manokwari, Sorong and Fakfak. By 2010 the province was divided into ten regencies and one autonomous city. Two new regencies have since created, all the existing regencies and city are listed below with their populations at the 2010 Census. * The areas and 2014 population of Arfak Mountains and South Manokwari Regencies are included in the figures for Manokwari Regency, the 2010 Census figures quoted above for all four of these regencies relate to their area as established in 2010. On 25 October 2013 the Indonesian House of Representatives began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of 57 prospective regencies/cities, poisoned Arrows, An investigative journey through the forbidden lands of West Papua

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United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

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Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing

A schematic of modern thermohaline circulation. Tens of millions of years ago, continental-plate movement formed a land-free gap around Antarctica, allowing the formation of the ACC, which keeps warm waters away from Antarctica.

Comparisons between Asian Monsoons from 200 AD to 2000 AD (staying in the background on other plots), Northern Hemisphere temperature, Alpine glacier extent (vertically inverted as marked), and human history as noted by the U.S. NSF.

Latin America is a group of countries and dependencies in the Americas where Spanish, French and Portuguese are …

Presencia de América Latina (Presence of Latin America, 1964–65) is a 300 square meters (3,200 sq ft) mural at the hall of the Arts House of the University of Concepción, Chile. It is also known as Latin America's Integration.